Designing the Ultimate National Park Road Trip: A Test Drive for Early Retirement Travel (Part 2)

We packed up our minivan and set out on an epic adventure spanning eight states. Our journey took us from our Illinois home to the dramatic landscapes of Utah, the towering peaks of the Rocky Mountains, and the rugged beauty of South Dakota’s Black Hills. Along the way, we visited four national parks, two national memorials/historic sites, and two state parks—all while leveraging travel rewards to keep costs low.

Table of Contents: Our Two-Week National Park Adventure
This trip was packed with so much adventure that we’ve broken it down into a series of blog posts. Click below to explore each leg of the journey:

• Part 1 – Introduction and Planning
• Part 2 – Outbound Travel & Little Jerusalem Badlands (You are here)
• Part 3 – Utah: Arches & Canyonlands National Park
• Part 4 – Rocky Mountain National Park & YMCA of the Rockies
• Part 5 – South Dakota: Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and Custer State Park
• Part 6 – The Road Home
• Part 7 – Lessons Learned: What Worked, What Didn’t, and What We’d Change

Shoving Off
On a sunny Friday afternoon, we officially launched what we’ve lovingly dubbed our “epic-to-us” family adventure. I logged a half-day of work from home (let’s just say “mentally checked out” by 10:01 a.m.) while the Chrysler Pacifica waited patiently in the driveway, loaded to the gills with gear and a healthy amount of anticipation.

The plan? Head west for about six hours and land somewhere in western Missouri for the night. Our travel strategy was loose but intentional, aiming to balance excitement with realism. From our home in central Illinois we headed west on I-72 towards Hanibal, MO and the Mighty Mississippi River.

Crossing the Illinois River
Not long after leaving central Illinois, we found ourselves crossing the Illinois River via the Valley City Eagles Bridge, a beautiful pair of post-tensioned concrete box girder bridges (yes, I’m a bridge nerd who notices stuff like this).

Built in the late ’80s, they feature sweeping spans and graceful piers that make them surprisingly elegant for concrete with unobstructed views in all directions. Fun engineering fact: they were built using the balanced cantilever method, which is basically like building a giant teeter-totter of concrete segments until the adjacent spans meet in the middle with a closure pour. Because who says bridges can’t be cool?

Hannibal, MO
Next up: Hannibal, Missouri, home of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn from the Mark Twain novels. Our kids have learned about Tom Sawyer in school, but I don’t think they have actually read the books yet because they have foul language by today’s standards.

We crossed the Mighty Mississippi River on a green thru-truss bridge (views slightly obstructed), but we did catch a glimpse of the historic Mark Twain Riverboat docked downtown, all white paint and a bright red paddlewheel.

Into Central Missouri
As we continued west, the scenery shifted dramatically from our Illinois home. Goodbye flat cornfields, hello rolling hills and dense forests. The highway cut through bedrock, revealing layers of exposed limestone and sandstone.

Topeka: Hotel Tonight or Nah?
We originally aimed to stop near Cameron, MO… but the road trip adrenaline kicked in and we pushed through six hours to Topeka, Kansas. Inspired by a money-saving travel hack, we tested the HotelTonight app for a last-minute deal. The verdict: Meh. Google Maps gave us better rates than HotelTonight. Lesson learned.

We stayed at a Comfort Suites Topeka Northwest, which was clean and surprisingly modern. This hotel was paid for with cash, not points. However, as was the consistent theme of the trip, the pool was closed. Wah, Wah, Wahhhhhhh.

Oakley, KS
For our second travel day we were planning a shorter six-hour trip to Oakley, KS, leaving us enough time in the evening to visit the Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park. Kansas marked another change in landscape with much fewer trees, more cattle, and rolling hills as far as the eye can see.

Our hotel for the night was at Sleep Inn & Suites Oakley. We paid with Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) points through the Chase Travel Portal at a $1.25 per point redemption rate. Not the sexiest redemption rate, but it checked the “free hotel” box and that’s always a win. The hotel was conveniently located at the exit for Interstate 70 near Little Jerusalem State Park.

We reached Oakley at 5 pm, ate dinner in the hotel room, and then geared up for an evening hike. Dinner consisted of the homemade chicken enchilada soup my wife had frozen in Mason jars before the trip. The jars remained frozen on the road courtesy of our AC/DC powered cooler/freezer.

After dinner, we laced up our hiking boots, grabbed our day packs, and jumped into the van for an easy 30-minute drive to Little Jerusalem State Park.

Little Jerusalem Badlands
Yes, Kansas has Badlands, and spoiler alert they’re awesome! Little Jerusalem State Park of Kansas felt like a “mini” version of South Dakota’s Badlands National Park. Our evening hike was a great primer for things to come on the trip.

Little Jerusalem is not nearly as expansive as the national park, but visually similar.
The dramatic Niobrara Chalk formations are weathering in a way that resembles the ruins of an ancient city. Some say that the park got the name “Little Jerusalem” or “New Jerusalem” because, from a distance, it looks like the ancient walled city of Jerusalem.

The park provides habitat for native amphibians, reptiles, and birds such as ferruginous hawks and cliff swallows. Little Jerusalem is also home to the largest population of Great Plains Wild Buckwheat. This native plant is found in the chalk bluffs prairie of western Kansas and nowhere else in the world.

The land was also once part of the McGuire Ranch. After five generations of family ownership, it is now a state park for public use. The park entrance fee was $5 per vehicle, and they operate on the honor system to drop off your fee into a drop box. There are two restrooms on site, picnic tables, but no potable water.

Overlook Trail
We began our visit with the short half-mile loop called “Overlook” trail. It was on this trail that our family first realized we needed to watch our step! We learned the land is part of a working ranch, and part of the park’s management involves using grazing to help maintain the native grasslands. This practice is seen as a way to combine conservation efforts with food production, as grazing helps maintain the health of the ecosystem. Before cattle, the native buffalo filled this role in the ecosystem.

On the Rocks Trail
For our next hike, we took the longer three-mile loop “On the Rocks” trail. The trail was moderate, but hopefully just what we needed to run the energy out of our kids. The trail led us along the rolling ridge line and bluffs overlooking the valley with beautiful golden-hour light washing over the formations.

We lost track of time and realized the sun was setting fast at the final panoramic overlook. Our hike back to the parking lot had to be double time if we wanted to avoid pulling out the headlamps. The return trip began as a jog, but the kiddos were losing steam and falling behind.
To save the day, I fired up a little EDM (Electronic Dance Music) on my phone speaker to keep their spirits and tempo up. Playing music out loud is generally bad trail etiquette, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and we were the only crazies left in the park.

We reached the trailhead just in time, catching the last streaks of sunset over the valley. Dusty, tired, and triumphant, we piled into the minivan and bounced down the gravel road toward warm showers and soft beds. It wasn’t the smoothest finish, but with a little chaos and a lot of heart, we were primed for the adventures ahead.

Call to Action
Please don’t stop here. Think about the following recommendations to improve your family adventures, and if you have any questions about the topics discussed in this post, please comment below.

• Strategically break up long driving days. Adding small adventures en route makes the journey just as enjoyable as the destination.
• Stash secret trail treats. When the kids hit that “Are we done yet?” phase on a hike, surprise bursts of sugar can work magic. We keep Skittles and Starburst in our daypack for just those occasions. And if the going gets rough, you can always use your phone as a Portable Hype Machine.
• Optimize travel rewards for experience, not just cost savings. Sometimes the best redemption is the one that lets you have the trip of a lifetime.

Ready for the full adventure? Click below to explore each leg of the journey!

• Part 1 – Introduction and Planning
• Part 2 – Outbound Travel & Little Jerusalem Badlands (You are here)
• Part 3 – Utah: Arches & Canyonlands National Park
• Part 4 – Rocky Mountain National Park & YMCA of the Rockies
• Part 5 – South Dakota: Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and Custer State Park
• Part 6 – The Road Home
• Part 7 – Lessons Learned: What Worked, What Didn’t, and What We’d Change